Syntopical Discussion

I haven't been all that good about hitting the dates that I'd suggested for the monthly plan. Hopefully no one is too bothered by that. I'm still finding my footing here. The plan calls for some syntopical discussion so we can talk about how the pieces we've read relate to each other. It's pretty early in the project for this to be useful but we may as well put down some early bricks. I've got a few preliminary thoughts but feedback would be greatly appreciated.

• Three of the pieces (Apology, Crito, Clouds) have dealt with the place of the philosopher in society. Plato gives the position lots of credit while Aristophanes treats it with disdain.


• Two of the pieces (Crito and especially Lysistrata) deal directly with how to correct a society. Again Plato and Aristophanes come at this from different sides with Socrates not wanting to damage the state and Lysistrata taking drastic measures to bring about change.


• All four give a picture of ancient Greece, which is important since it really is the headwaters of Western philosophy.

Anyone else?